Photo by Martin Pettitt. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

It was not an easy journey. Following a tragic first attempt, the crew of the biodiesel-powered Earthrace boat set out a second time to break the record for motorized circumnavigation. On the second trip, a biodiesel flood and a lost engine were serious setbacks, but this past weekend, the Earthrace pulled into Sagunto, Sapin, two months after setting forth. The 61-day journey means that the Earthrace can now claim to be the best at circling the globe with an engine: the previous such record took two weeks longer to go the distance.

The Guardian UK has a nice story about the crew's victory, the many troubles they faced along the way, and the well-deserved parties in their future. As tipster Sayyad wrote in to AutoblogGreen, "I think congratulations are in order, especially considering all they've been through." True, but let's not forget that the record for sailing around the world using nothing but wind and human power is just over 50 days. Sails beat biofuels on the open seas. h/t to Sayyad!


[Source: Guardian UK]

Following a biodiesel flood during the Atlantic crossing, the Earthrace biodiesel-powered boat continued on its second attempt to circumnavigate using nothing but the biofuel as power. The troubled ship is still having its share of problems (like losing an engine near the Marshall Islands - PDF), but, as Domestic Fuel puts it, is still limping towards the world record. It won't be easy.

After leaving Palau, the ship hit some sea debris, the captain writes on his blog (can't link to individual entries, so scroll down to the entry from June 3rd), and "just a few hundred metres from the safety of open water. Then completely out of the blue, Earthrace suddenly lurches as we hit something, and in a split second, I go from being on top of the world, to the bottom of it." The hit ended up damaging the port propeller and (likely) the drive shaft. The ship is scheduled to be repaired in Singapore this week, but the record - while still possible - is getting less and less likely.


[Source: Earthrace blog via Domestic Fuel]

At the end of April, the biodiesel-powered Earthrace boat left Spain on its second attempt to set a record for round-the-world sailing using biofuel. The Atlantic crossing did present a few difficulties, with a toilet backing up, a small pool of biodiesel flooding the sleeping quarters and high waves making for slow going. Still, the boat should now be in Puerto Rico, according to the New Zealand Herald and had traveled 6651 km as of noon Monday. It's speed heading into San Juan was 43 km/hour and the average so far was 37 km/hour. Once the boat takes on more biodiesel in Puerto Rico, the next leg of the journey is 1857 km to Panama and then through the Panama Canal and on to the Pacific. So far, the team's target record is still very achievable.


[Source: New Zealand Herald]

If at first you don't succeed, why not try again with a bit of your own fat in the engine? The biodiesel-powered Earthrace boat is ready to set off on its second around-the-world attempt today, according to Motor Boats Monthly. The badass trimaran departs from Spain's Sagunto at 1 pm today (local time) and will try to circle the globe in record time. The current record is 75 days and was set by the British boat Cable & Wireless in 1998, Stuff.co.nz reports.

In addition, Stuff.co.nz says that skipper Pete Bethune said he is fully aware of the recent spate of bad news regarding biofuels and said, "We spend almost as much time highlighting the negative aspects of biofuels." The team's first crack at sailing around the world on biodiesel ended in defeat almost exactly a year ago (April 30) following a number of setbacks and one deadly accident. Here's hoping the new attempt sees better luck.

[Source: Motor Boats Monthly, Stuff.co.nz]

The first Earthrace attempt ended in defeat back in April. The idea was to circle the globe on a biodiesel-powered boat, but there were just too many problems (and one deadly accident). But, the idea - and boat - are just too cool to be sent into history without a second chance, so the New Zealand team will try again in 2008, trying to beat the circumnavigation record of 74 days, 20 hours and 58 minutes. And, with a little special help from the captain, the second time just might be the charm.

The plan is to set sail from from Valencia, Spain at the beginning of March and "traverse the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans as well as the Panama and Suez canals in its more-than-24,000-nautical-mile journey," according to Fox News. That's similar to the plan from last time. What's new? How about a little bit of fat taken from the captain and turned into biodiesel? The Fox article says:

He [Pete Bethune] also made a symbolic gesture towards the project, undergoing liposuction with two other volunteers, which produced 10 liters - a bit more than 2 1/2 gallons - of human fat, enough to power the boat for 8 nautical miles.

That'll help. For the entire carbon-neutral trip, the Earthrace will need 165,000 liters of biodiesel. Anyone want to donate?

[Source: Fox News via Domestic Fuel]

You have to give it to the Earthrace crew for keeping the faith as long as they have, and with all of the problems that they have encountered along the way, including the possible breakage of their boat and a deadly accident involving a fishing boat. Just a few days ago, we updated you that they had revised their trip plan in one final last ditch attempt to break the record of circumnavigating the globe using their biodiesel-powered boat. But, it seems that reality has recently struck, and they are going to go ahead and finally call it quits.

Perhaps the crew can get all of the problems behind them in the next few years and go for another attempt, as the idea of using biodiesel to power their boat in an attempt to raise awareness of the fuel might just be good enough press to make it into the public spotlight.

[Earthrace via The Sietch Blog]

A judge has ruled that the deadly ocean collision between the bio-diesel-powered Earthrace speedboat and a small fishing boat off the coast of Guatemala was an accident. The ruling clears the way for the Earthrace and its crew of four to be released and continue its attempt to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe. Lawyers for the boat's crew have reached a civil settlement with the families of the fishermen. The boat was expected to head for Acapulco. The team was held up in the Guatemalan port for 10 days while the legal issues were resolved. One person was killed and another severely injured in the nighttime accident. The Earthrace boat suffered little damage but the fishing boat was destroyed. The world record is 75 days, so the Earthrace crew cannot afford another delay.

Related:

• Tragedy at Sea: Earthrace team hits fishing boat off Guatemala; one dead and crew still held

[Source: The Age]

The biodiesel-powered Earthrace superboat will not set a round-the-world record. Last Sunday while traveling near the coast of Guatemala at night, the radical 78-foot Earthrace boat collided with a small fiberglass fishing boat. The Earthrace boat was basically unscathed except for prop damage but the fishing boat was demolished. The Earthrace crew managed to pull two injured fisherman out of the water but couldn't find a third. The Earthrace boat limped into a Guatemalan port where officials have not let the crew leave, even though repairs have been made. Court appearances have been postponed three times. The captain's blog has been very detailed in the accident and days in port. Captain Pete Bethune, who hails from New Zealand, was not at the wheel of Earthrace when the accident happened. An engineer was driving and he told the skipper that the fishing boat may not have had the proper lighting. That engineer has left the team, and the team has posted a want ad for a replacement. Earthrace had been slowed early in the run with prop problems. According to Bethune's blog, his insurance company has settled with the dead man's family. Now it may be only a question of whether any of the crew, which includes an American, will have to face criminal charges.

[Source: stuff.co.nz]

The biodiesel-powered, environmentally friendly Earthrace speedboat is limping into its first port. The boat took off on a world-record attempt to circumnavigate the globe on March 10. But 16 hours later, according to the team's website, the crew nearly had to give up the attempt.

Apparently the trick carbon props designed for subs are starting to fail. Increased vibration forced the team to slow down and inspect the components. All the blades have sections where the carbon is peeling away, leading to one blade nearly losing its entire edge.

The crew is nursing the boat into Panama where the crew will review their options.

Related:

• Earthrace attempts to circumnavigate the globe using only renewable fuels
• Around the world on biodiesel

[Source: Earthrace]

A while back, we showed you a catamaran that crossed the Atlantic using solar power. They also planned a return trip back across the Atlantic to New York. That was the first time a vehicle made the voyage powered by something other than fossil-fuels since boats were human and wind-powered. Now, we are updating you on a team attempting what they refer to as an "Earthrace." The team is circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat using only renewable fuels. They also plan to beat the current 75-day record, which was set in 1998, by over ten days.

The striking boat is a Trimaran design, measuring 78 feet by 23 feet (click the photo to see it in high-res). The vessel can run up to 45 knots using its two Cummins engines at 540 horsepower each running on B100 biodiesel fuel. The 2500 gallons of fuel storage allows the vessel a range of 3000 nautical miles. The carbon and kevlar hull is designed to pierce, or even submarine through waves, allowing good speed through the treacherous conditions at sea. You can read more about the boat, its crew and even follow their blog here at their site. Be sure to check out their high-res images too!

Related:

• Swiss catamaran is the first vehicle ever to cross the Atlantic on solar power
• Solar electric boat SUN21 heading out on transatlantic, oil-free voyage
• Around the world on biodiesel

[Source: Earthrace via Gizmag]

The pages of AutoblogGreen generally focus on land based transportation, but we thought we should make you aware of an attempt to break the record for circumnavigating the globe in the Earthrace. Earthrace, a 78-foot boat, looks like a seagoing version of the Batmobile, and is able to cut under waves like a submarine. The twist with this record breaking attempt is the fuel the boat is being run on. The Earthrace is strictly run on biodiesel. The skipper, Pete Bethune, and his wife are strong supporters of biodiesel, and are trying to raise awareness for the fuel with an 18-month tour calling at 60 of the world's great cities. The current record for circumnavigating the world stands at 75 days. The Earthrace aims to take 65 days to cover the same distance, in the first attempt ever to be powered solely by renewable fuels. Check out the article and the website for loads more information about the attempt and some nice images.

[Source: 24 Hours Vancouver]